What is DNS?

DNS is short for Domain Name System. This system is used to forward your domain or sub domain, to somewhere else. You can forward to another server, IP-address, another domain or mail server. You can manage the DNS settings in your Control Panel.

To access the settings for DNS:

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Forwarding a domain using Redirect

Redirect your visitors from your domain to another website. All you need to know is the address for the website you want to redirect to. Then you decide which URL you want to display in the browser’s address bar.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Redirect in the menu

Enter the address of the website you want to forward to

Check the box if you want to show this domain in the browser’s address bar.

Click Save

Your domain will now redirect to the address you entered. Keep in mind that it takes up to 90 minutes before your changes take effect.

Forwarding a domain using a Web forward or a Web alias

A web forward is used to redirect visitors from one domain to another. A web alias also does that, but keeps the domain in the URL.

In this example we will create a web forward from example.com to anotherdomain.com. Everyone who enters example.com, will then be redirected to anotherdomain.com.

A web alias does the same, except that the URL in the browser’s address bar would be example.com. Yet the displayed content would be from anotherdomain.com.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Web DNS in the menu

Under Personal web DNS settings, you are going to create two new records.Start with www.example.com, where example.com is your domain hosted by One.com.

In the left field for hostname, type www

In the dropdown menu, select Web forward or Web alias.

In the field for Destination, type in the domain name you want to forward your domain to.In this example anotherdomain.com.

Click the plus (+) icon to save your settings.The standard settings will automatically be deactivated.The first new record is now done.

For the second record, leave the left field for hostname blank.

In the dropdown menu, select Web forward or Web alias.

In the field for destination, type in the domain name you want to forward your domain to.In this example anotherdomain.com.

Click the plus (+) icon to save your settings.The standard settings will automatically be deactivated.The second record is now done.

Your domain will now redirect to the address you entered. Keep in mind that it takes up to 90 minutes before your changes take effect.

Whenever you want to use the default DNS settings for your domain hosted by One.com, just click Reset Web DNS in the bottom left. This will reset all settings to default.

Forwarding a domain to another IP address (A record)

An A record is used to send traffic from a domain or subdomain to an IP address.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Web DNS in the menu

Under Personal web DNS settings, create the two new records: example.com and www.example.com. Start with www.example.com, where example.com is your own domain hosted by One.com.

In the left field type www

In the dropdown menu, select A

In the field for Destination, type in the IP address.In this example 127.0.0.1

Click the plus (+) icon to save your settings.The standard settings will automatically be deactivated.The first new record is now done.

For the second record, leave the left field blank.

In the dropdown menu, select A

In the field for Destination, type in the IP address.In this example 127.0.0.1

Your domain will now redirect to the address you entered. Keep in mind that it takes up to 90 minutes before your changes take effect.

Whenever you want to use the default DNS settings for your domain hosted by One.com, just click Reset Web DNS in the bottom left. This will reset all settings to default.

Forwarding a domain using CNAME

A CNAME (Canonical name) is a record used to specify a domain name as an alias for another domain.

With a CNAME you can forward domains (and their subdomains) to the same IP address. A CNAME ties a name to an A record. Instead of making several A records, you can create CNAME records and tie them to one A record.

The advantage is when you need to change the IP address, all you need to change is the IP address for the A record. That will change the IP for all the CNAME records as well.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Web DNS in the menu

Under Personal web DNS settings, create the two new records: example.com and www.example.com. Start with www.example.com, where example.com is your own domain hosted by One.com.

In the field for Hostname, type www

Select CNAME in the dropdown menu

In the field for Destination, type in the CNAME you have received (or created).In this example cname.domain.com.

Click the plus (+) icon to save your settings.The first new record is now done.

For the second record, leave the field for Hostname blank.

Select Web forward in the dropdown menu

In the field for destination, type in your domain with www.In this example www.example.com

Click the plus (+) icon to save your settings.The second record is now done.

Your domain will now redirect to the address you entered. Keep in mind that it takes up to 90 minutes before your changes take effect.

Note: You cannot add a CNAME for the root level of a domain. For the same reason a CNAME is used for www.example.com, and a web forward is used for example.com.

Whenever you want to use the default DNS settings for your domain hosted by One.com, just click Reset Web DNS in the bottom left. This will reset all settings to default.

Adding TXT records

The TXT records are used to insert arbitrary text into a DNS record. These records are not used to direct any traffic. Instead they provide needed information to outside sources.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Web DNS in the menu

Enter a value in the field Hostname

Select TXT in the dropdown menu

Enter a time for TTL

Enter a value for Priority

Enter the text you want to add in Destination

Click the plus (+) icon to save the settings

TTL (time-to-live) indicates how long a record is cached by a DNS server, like your ISP (Internet Service Provider). TTL is set in seconds, and the lowest value possible is 3600 seconds (1 hour). If you leave the field empty, the default value is 3600 seconds.

Priority is the priority of the target host. A lower value means more preferred. The default value is 0, if you leave the field empty.

Whenever you want to use the default DNS settings for your domain hosted by One.com, just click Reset Web DNS in the bottom left. This will reset all settings to default.

Adding SRV records

An SRV record is used to specify the location with a hostname and a port.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Web DNS in the menu

Enter a value in the field HostnameUse the format:_service._protocol.name

Select SRV in the dropdown menu

Enter a time for TTL

Enter a value for Priority

Enter the text you want to add in DestinationUse the format:weight port target

Click the plus (+) icon to save the settings

General format for SRV records

_service._protocol.name. TTL class SRV priority weight port target.

Format for SRV records in the Control Panel:

Hostname:_service._protocol.name

TTL: numeric value set in seconds

Priority: numeric value

Destination:weight port target

TTL (time-to-live) indicates how long a record is cached by a DNS server, like your ISP (Internet Service Provider). TTL is set in seconds, and the lowest value possible is 3600 seconds (1 hour). If you leave the field empty, the default value is 3600 seconds.

Priority is the priority of the target host. A lower value means more preferred. The default value is 0, if you leave the field empty.

Whenever you want to use the default DNS settings for your domain hosted by One.com, just click Reset Web DNS in the bottom left. This will reset all settings to default.

Changing MX Records (Mail DNS)

An MX record is used to add your own mail server. You can also set a value to prioritize mail delivery, if there are several mail servers available.

In this example we assume that you have your mail server on the IP address 123.123.123.123.

Log on your Control Panel

Click DNS

Select Web DNS in the menu

Create a new record by typing mail in the left field for Hostname

In the dropdown menu, select A

In the field for Destination, enter the IP address.In this example: 123.123.123.123

Click the plus (+) icon to save the new record.Now your A record is done.Next, you have to add the MX record.

Select Mail DNS in the menu

Add a new MX record by typing mail.example.com in the Destination field.This would be the A record you just created, and example.com would be your domain hosted by One.com.

In Priority type 10.

Click the plus (+) icon to save the new record

Your domain is now set up to use a custom mail server. Keep in mind that it takes up to 90 minutes before your changes take effect.

Priority is the priority of the target host. A lower value means more preferred. The default value is 0, if you leave the field empty.

Backup mail servers: If you want to use backup mail servers, just create additional MX records. Give them different priorities, and the one with the lowest value will be requested first. If a server does not respond, the next one with a higher number will be requested. By using the values 10, 20, 30 etc. for Priority, it is easy to create more MX records without changing the existing MX records.

Whenever you want to use One.com’s mail servers for your domain, just click Reset Mail DNS in the bottom left. This will reset all settings to default.